TWC Sets Watch by Enhanced ITV Ads

3/12/2012 12:01 AM Eastern

By: Todd Spangler

Time Warner Cable Media is now
letting advertisers target interactive TV ads to
viewers in various local markets based on time
of day — the industry’s latest signal of support
for ITV after the collapse of Canoe Ventures’
ambitions in this area.

The cable operator’s ad division is
launching Enhanced iTV, available in
TWC’s existing interactive-TV markets nationwide,
including New York; Charlotte,
N.C.; and Cincinnati.

Time Warner Cable first launched ITV
ad products in 2005, and its interactive TV
footprint now encompasses more than 7.5
million households with more than 10 million
set-tops.

Time Warner Cable said businesses that
have used iTV include the Ohio Lottery and
Charlotte-based Brownlee Jewelers, both of
which plan to launch additional interactive
TV campaigns later in 2012.

“ITV is a proven advertiser solution that
is working for our clients
right now,” Time
Warner Cable Media
president Joan Hogan
Gillman said. “We are
thrilled to build on the
existing success we’re
having across multiple
markets with Enhanced
iTV, which will
provide even better experiences
for our advertisers and customers.”

Last month, Canoe — the advanced advertising
firm owned by the six biggest
U.S. cable operators — announced it was
discontinuing its national interactive TV
operations, citing lack of traction in the
marketplace. With the shift to focus exclusively
on VOD advertising, Canoe is laying
off 120 employees, including CEO Kathy
Timko.

In the wake of the news, individual cable
operators have stepped
forward to tout ITV as
a powerful tool for enhancing
local advertising.

Time Warner Cable
said Brownlee Jewelers’
recent ITV campaign
drove a 150%
increase in in-store
gold transactions and increased
sales. “ITV has proven to be an
effective way to engage our customers
and increase foot traffi c in a tough economy,”
Brownlee Jewelers president Harold
Russo said in a statement.